Chesterfield man who brandished metal bar in pub was “goaded” by drinkers

Phillip Sargeson, 38, was caught on CCTV approaching a group of people sitting around a table outside Hasland’s Devonshire Arms on March 19.

Footage played to Chesterfield Magistrates Court showed the hooded defendant waving the weapon at the group - who retreated into a corner.

Pub-goers were then shown following Sargeson out of the pub to the nearby Texaco garage - where he was wrestled to the ground and the metal club was handed to a member of staff.

Nadine Wilford, defending Sargeson, said her client had “no excuse” for his behaviour but was “saddened” by what he had done.

However she added: “The victims had been insulting to my client and his friend - they were goading him.

“My client and his friend had been ejected from the pub by the staff - he had little memory of the incident.”

Mrs Wilford said Sargeson’s extreme reaction came about as a result of combining prescription medication with “excessive alcohol”.

Sargeson, who has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, was “in a bad place” at the time of the incident, said Mrs Wilford, having lost his accommodation.

The defendant, of Wordsworth Road, Newbold, admitted threatening behaviour.

A magistrate told him: “This was a public place - you approached people at a table causing fear and distress carrying a metal bar.”

He was jailed for 19 weeks suspended for 12 months with 15 rehabilitation activity days, ordered to pay £85 court costs and a £128 victim surcharge.

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